Читать книгу Eat Up: Food for Children of All Ages - Mark Hix - Страница 20

From about seven months you can start using whole cow’s milk in your cooking. You should continue breastfeeding or feeding your baby formula feed until 12 months. Making the switch to full-fat milk as a drink should happen at about one year, though your baby can eat dairy produce such as yoghurt and cheese from about six months. The use of unmodified (pasteurised) cow’s milk as a drink should be avoided before 12 months because it is a very poor source of iron, and is low on vitamins, particularly those essential vitamins C and D. Alternatively, a so-called ‘follow-on formula’ can be used, although the benefits over an ordinary formula are not well defined.

If your baby is reluctant to take solids which are rich in iron (red meats and green vegetables) it is wise to continue a milk formula to 18 months. Don’t give skimmed or semi-skimmed milk to babies and children under five as they need the calories and fatty acids that full-fat milk provides. We are so used to the idea that a healthy diet is a low-calorie one that it’s easy to forget that small children need calories to help them grow.

Very occasionally babies suffer from a condition called lactose intolerance, which means that they lack an enzyme in the intestine required to break down the sugar in milk into simpler sugars. If you suspect your baby might be lactose intolerant (symptoms include nausea, bloating, wind and diarrhoea) you should seek advice from your GP.